Last Monday, Love Underdogs attended the European Commission’s 1st conference on companion animal welfare in Europe. The meeting was well attended and we found the speakers to be informative. They covered many aspects of the topic such as health, behaviour, illegal trade, breeding, law and transport. This is the first time the EU reaches out to companion animal welfare groups and we hope this will be the beginning of a growing trend. The aims of the conference were clear from the start. It helped to clarify the EU’s areas of legal competence when it comes to the issues at hand, and to begin to discuss how those limited powers might be used in future to help legislate in areas of concern. At present, the EU can only act when real added value to member states can be argued. In the case of animal welfare, two areas were identified as possible avenues, namely human health and commerce. In legal terms, companion animals are a private commodity, something which the EU cannot interfere with, but is the sole responsibility of member states. This also applies to stray dog management and welfare laws per say, which remain the responsibility of individual countries. Several speakers outlined current national legislations and it was clear that approaches differ greatly from country to country. Italy has criminalised animal abandonment, whilst Switzerland has compulsory courses for prospective dog owners to promote responsible ownership for example.
An important topic for the day was puppy farming, and we were shocked to hear that an estimated 1 in 3 puppies purchased in the UK comes from a puppy farm. This area of concern, linked to a growing trend in illegal puppy import and export as well as the risk this poses for the spread of disease transmissible to us, prompted discussions on the need to have better cooperation between member state when it comes to the traceability and registration of pets Europe wide. A unified microchip registration system was examined as a possible avenue. Education programs were discussed, with many examples from NGO’s and governments to promote responsible pet ownership, again an area in which the EU can have a role to play, as it is non-legislative. Whilst it is perhaps disappointing to hear that the EU is so limited in its ability to act when it comes to the protection of cats and dogs, it was important to us to understand within what capacity it might be able to help. This can aid to better target campaigns aimed at welfare in the EU, finding legislative leverage to tackle issues and knowing which aspect of these issues should be highlighted for results and, importantly, which campaigns can simply not be taken up by the EU in its current format. This may be a small step in the right direction, but should not be underestimated. At the very least, it shows that the Commission is paying attention to our concerns and is willing to find ways in which to act.
For more information on the conference please visit:
